A noble helper becomes a Vuelta winner: the kissing fairy tale

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It cannot be assumed that Jonas Vingegaard (26, Dä) and Primoz Roglic (31, Slo) have ever played. And yet last Wednesday they played “Tschau Sepp”. On the grueling final climb to the Alto de l’Angliru, they rode away in pairs from Vuelta leader Sepp Kuss (29, USA).

“It’s great,” said some people who don’t follow cycling closely. The problem is that Vingegaard, Roglic and Kuss are all employed by the Dutch team Jumbo-Visma. And if there is an unwritten rule in cycling, it is that you are not allowed to attack your teammates.

Roglic did it anyway because he wanted his fourth overall victory in the Vuelta, which would have brought him closer to record holder Roberto Heras (49, Sp). Tour winner Vingegaard, on the other hand, was aiming for the Grand Tour double. In fact, both crossed the finish line together, but probably already suspected something bad. First, Kuss, who had been faithful to both of them for years as a noble helper, did not completely collapse. And second, they probably knew there would be criticism. That’s exactly how it happened.

Abandoned on my birthday

“Sepp deserves more respect,” said 2018 British Tour winner Geraint Thomas, 37. Former champion Sean Kelly, 60, said the whole thing was simply unfair. The fact that Kuss was celebrating his 29th birthday that day was interpreted as the height of daring.

Those responsible at Jumbo-Visma realized that they were about to waste a lot of sympathy and announced that they would now ride for Kuss – after all, the first three places for the team in the general classification were all but secured. Vingegaard and Roglic stuck to it from then on, and the Slovenian in particular seemed happy.

Is cushion back in the backseat?

Kuss’s success is the biggest Grand Tour surprise in recent years. ‘I never thought something like this was possible. I still can’t believe it all,” he says. The victory of the mountain cyclist from Andorra is worth gold for the image of cycling in the US. Ultimately, both Lance Armstrong’s seven Tour victories between 1999 and 2005 and Floyd Landis’ victory at the Grande Boucle in 2006 were annulled. And Tyler Hamilton’s 2006 Olympic victory has also been erased from the history books. Since then, people have longed for heroic deeds.

That’s where the kiss story comes in. It does not matter to him that he gained a lot of time with the top favorites with a leading group in the first week of the Vuelta.

The exciting question will be what ambitions Kuss has for the future. He loved the role of helper, but has now seen that he is capable of great things. One thing is certain: Jumbo-Visma will not be without work in the future.

Source : Blick